April 14, 2009
Poor US beef sales may impede growth in Korean stores
Sales of US beef at department stores in South Korea are so poor that further purchasing becomes a doubt.
Hyundai Department Store said six of its nationwide shops sold a total of KRW15 million worth of US beef as of Thursday (Apr 9) since selling the imported meat from April 4.
Sales were worse at two provincial Shinsegae Department Store shops that posted only KRW1.4 million in sales during the same period.
At Hyundai, US beef accounted for two percent of overall beef sales compared with Australian beef's five percent and Korean's hanwoo at 93 percent. At Shinsegae, US beef took up only 2.9 percent of total beef sales.
As sales were far below expectations, Shinsegae may now think twice about expanding US beef sales in its sales network, industry experts said, adding that consumers prefer local beef and the trend of US beef avoidance is clearer among younger consumers.
Current sales betray initial predictions that US beef would account for up to 30 percent in the Korean beef market, said industry sources.
